In the second edition of "The Missing," I brought you the case of Jason "J.J." Jolkowski, a 19-year-old resident of Omaha, Nebraska, who vanished in 2001. This past Friday marked the seventh anniversary of Jason's sudden and mysterious disappearance.
In honor of Jason, his birthday and his generous spirit, Jason's parents, Jim and Kelly Jolkowski, have launched a fundraising campaign for Projectjason.org, a nonprofit organization they founded in 2003, with the purpose of increasing public awareness of missing person cases. Below are just a few highlights of what this wonderful organization has managed to accomplish since then.
• Project Jason has distributed more than 12,500 personal ID kits, including a Spanish translation.
• Project Jason has facilitated the distribution of more than 50,000 posters nationwide through their various poster campaigns.
• Project Jason has given out more nearly 5,000 missing person photo buttons through their Adopt a Missing Person program.
• Project Jason has mentored several volunteers to action and passed legislation in 6 states that positively affect missing person's cases.
• Project Jason has served over 400 families since their inception.
• Project Jason, in partnership with Target Media, places information about 4 missing persons each month in national trucking magazines, which have circulations of 150,000 each.
• Project Jason has had a direct impact in the location of numerous missing persons, including a teen missing for 2 years, a sister missing for 7, and a son missing for 14.
• Project Jason recently started placing photos of missing persons on bus benches.
• Project Jason is the first and only assistance organization to offer free professional online counseling with one of the nation's foremost counselors.
• Project Jason was the first nonprofit of its type to open an office in the popular virtual world, Second Life, bringing the cause of the missing to a new audience, telling the stories of the missing in an intimate and intriguing style.
